...the wood-fired traditional oven
In the olden days, bread was baked in a stone bread oven. There is a brick-built wood-fired oven on the grounds of every Feather Down farm.
We have based the design on a drawing which we have of a real 'old-fashioned baking oven'. We involved a retired baker who still bakes using a stone bread oven. His father was also a baker. First the oven was inspected by him, to check whether it was well built and whether it was suitable to bake bread and other treats. And if so, how much could be baked at the same time.
Below is the report of the first bread baked in the traditional wood-fired Feather Down farm bread oven:
First a pile of dry wood was collected, mainly branches, which were then bundled together. These bundles were put into the oven. Quite a bit was needed. You would probably think, a couple of bundles was all that was needed, otherwise the oven would blow up. But it's not. An entire mound of wood disappeared into the oven. Then this was lit and was left to burn intensely for about an hour, regularly adding a new load of wood and all around the oven it was piping hot.
After an hour, the farmer swept the still burning wood into a metal wheelbarrow. That was a strange sight. Then I plunged a stick connected to a chain, to which a cloth was fixed, through a bucket of water, and swept the oven clean. And then the bread was put onto the plates in the oven and the door at the front was closed. Exciting!
We waited and waited a little more…. the door of the oven should not be opened prematurely: if you do this the heat escapes and the bread collapses.
After a good half hour the oven was opened and the bread taken out. We thought that you could tell when the bread was ready by taking a big bite! But a real baker does not take a bite out of his bread; he taps on his bread. When they sound hollow, they are done. After the bread had been distributed, the baker puts a new mound of wood in the oven. So it dries out nicely for the next time when we will bake our bread again in the traditional oven.
We learned a lot. They had to work very hard in the olden days for small quantities. But with this familiarisation of old-fashioned bread baking it made it taste and smell nicer than ever before. And in our enthusiasm, we not only baked small buns, but also large loaves and tea-cakes. Then the farmer thought it was enough. He had been busy with us already for almost the entire afternoon.
During your stay at your Feather Down farm, everyone can experience this. There is a Feather Down Farm bread oven on every farm. The farmer will take charge. Otherwise the oven might not become hot enough, or it lifts off, or something goes wrong with emptying the oven. In short, baking your own bread under the guidance of the farmer or farmer’s wife. Order your bread in advance with the farmer and witness the traditional baking of bread as in bygone days.
